Dark Sun Celestia

"Hate is a wonderful thing. It's the greatest motivator for ponies everywhere. It gets things done. Were it not for my hatred of all of ponykind... the fuel that keeps me alive. I wouldn't be here with all of you. And we wouldn't have this... plan. This blueprint for Equestria's destruction. We are all here to gather in preparation for the death of Celestia... and the creation of OUR empire. A haven for us. Outcasts."

"I saw him last night. While I was taking watch I saw him and his stallions. Making... something... plotting his... revenge. For last time. That was before Nightmare Moon, before I unleashed my Dark Side. I remember... he forsook his royal duty for something more. He wanted it all for himself. So we stopped him... and for that he was sent deep underground, in the depths of the Everfree Forest. But we always knew he would come back, as Nightmare Moon came back. For the prophecy says so."

"Check this out" Twilight says giving Rarity a peculiar looking diamond glowing green. Rarity takes it into her hooves and is fascinated by it, her eyes gleaming as it does when presented with precious stones.

"How pretty! What is this gemstone?" Rarity says. Twilight thinks of how she obtained it, taking a moment to put her front left hoof on her chin. ""Zecora gave it to me. She said it was from her homeland, a remnant from the great mines of Zebraland."

Rarity takes all this in, eyes still focused on the green gem when she turns to look at Twilight. "Zebraland?"

Twilight looks back and shrugs her shoulder. "I asked Zecora where she came from and apparently it's impossible too pronounce by us ponies. So it's Zebraland." She gives a nervous laugh.

Rarity nods her head in agreement and goes back to admiring the gem. "And what do they call this gem back in Zebraland?"

"Well she didn't tell me whatt it was called. Apparently only a few Zebras know it exists."

Rarity keeps looking at the gem before it registers in her head. "And why would a gem as lovely as this be kept secret for so long. It's such a marvel. It's like it came from another place, an... alien creation."

"Because of it's radioactive nature."

"Radio- what now?"

"Radiation. It's a term I found in a book about the last Cross-Equestrian War. Apparently there were rocks that were used in the war to harm other ponies via radiation. It's... wel the rock emits particles that change stuff. Like the inner workings of your body for example."

Rarity looks at the glowing gem for a second before dropping it quickly. "You mean this gem can give me the uncurable sickness?"

"Not that one. That one's been deactivated. The glow's just for show. I brought it over cause I thought you might like it."

Rarity looks at the gem on the floor for a moment before picking it up and putting it on a nearby shelf. "Well it is lovely. Thank you for the lovely gift. But is there another reason for coming here and giving me a deactivated radioactive gem you got from Zecora."

"Well." Twilight takes a notebook out of her saddlebag. "I only had a couple of those stones. I call them Zebranium. I don't think they're exclusive to Zebraland. I think... I think they're actually rocks from the sky. Just a theory. If it's true then there may be more out there, and there may be some more near here. So that we won't need to go out to Zebraland to get them. Besides the mines were shut centuries ago."

"And why do you need more of these highly dangerous gems?"

"Because... they contain a power that can rival the sun."

Every action has a consequence. The boy tried to think of this as he sat in a cell in the local jail. For petty theft of course. He reaped what he sowed, and he wasn't a fool. He knew that there were punishments for this kind of behavior. But it had been his fourth visit to the jailhouse and the beatings he endured from the guards were even worse than last time.

As he sat on the cold, unforgiving floor he tried to remember his parents, And that day. And he didn't want to remember. But he had to. He had to hold on to the memories so he could stay motivated. For the one thing he knew he had to do in his life, other than stay out of jail, was to find the killers and bring them to justice.

How could he, merely a thief, and merely a thief of apples and oranges, be in jail, experiencing cruel and unusual punishment? How could those killers stay free, and presumably still killing. He should be in his bedroom, with his mother reading him a bedtime story. But those days were gone.

He was alone.

In a sense.

There were two sisters, that much was true. But there were more. Much of this has been lost to history. Books and cameras were only inventions of the modern age. In fact the only people who remembered that there were other legendary alicorns, and creatures were the princesses themselves, and Discord, being a child of Chaos, one of the primordial beings present in the beginning. So how does one go about gathering the evidence that there were other alicorns? By being able to roam the imperial palace unimpeded, and examining the royal family tree located in the hidden Throne room. You ask, have I ever been there? How would I know this? The answer? I don't. I've never been there. But I know of an extraordinary zebra who got in there. And it is his story that I will tell.